French Silk Pie

We love French silk pies with their silky smoothness. They seem the most sophisticated and regal of the chocolate pies

Silk pies would be perfect except for one detractor—they’re made with raw eggs. Now, we know that with the right amount of sugar, they’re safe but still—they’re a detractor. So we set off the make the perfect French silk pie with cooked eggs.

We searched our cookbooks and the internet for French silk pies where the eggs are cooked. There are several methods, some calling for baking the pie and some calling for cooking the filling and placing the cooked filling in a baked pie shell. We chose the latter.
How to Make Our French Silk Pies

What makes French silk pies so silky? They are made with eggs, butter, chocolate, and sugar. There is no starch with its relative coarseness and unlike a custard pie, the filling melts in your mouth since both the butter and the chocolate melts at body temperature and the sugar dissolves in the filling. Once cooked, the eggs coagulate so the percentage of eggs must be low.

French Silk Pie

Yield: 6 servings.
Prep: 40 min.
Cook: 10 min. + chilling

Ingredients

• 1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 Eggland’s Best Eggs
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar
• Whipped cream and chocolate curls, optional

Directions

1. Cut pastry sheet in half. Repackage and refrigerate one half for another use.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining half into an 8-in. circle.
3. Transfer to a 7-in. pie plate; flute edges. Line shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil.
4. Bake at 450° for 4 minutes. Remove foil; bake 2 minutes longer or until
   crust is golden brown.
5. Cool on a wire rack.
6. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and eggs until well blended.
7. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 160°
   and coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat.
8. Stir in chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Cool to lukewarm (90°), stirring occasionally.
9. In a small bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy.
10. Add cooled chocolate mixture; beat on high speed for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
    In another large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken.
11. Add confectioners’ sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Fold into
    chocolate mixture.
12. Pour into crust. Chill for at least 6 hours before serving.
13. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls if desired.
14. Refrigerate leftovers.